Band or DJ?
Recap The episode begins from where the previous one left off. While Ted is at the New GNB Headquarters, he gets a text from Barney, saying that he and Robin are engaged. Future Ted says that their engagement marked a truly happy time for their group, but one of them was not happy about it. Three days later, Marshall and Lily tell Ted at the bar that Marvin is constipated and won't stop crying. When Robin arrives, Lily tells her that planning a wedding is annoying, and she can do it for her, but Robin says she is looking forward to it. Lily says that they need to pick a date first, which Ted says is May 25th, 2013. Robin tells Lily that Ted offered to help with the planning of the wedding. Ted tells Lily that the ceremony will take place at the church in Long Island where Victoria almost got married, and the colors are cream and lilac, with Lily angrily looking at him and jumps at him when he finishes talking. Marshall asks Robin about Barney, and she tells him that he is fine and his panic attacks are getting shorter and further apart. She tells them that she asked Barney if he took permission from her dad to marry her, but Barney tells her that he didn't. She tells them that her dad is scary, and she and Barney had lunched with him. Robin is about to shake his hand, but he asks for a hug. He thanks them for meeting him at his favorite restaurant, where he and Carol come. Robin asks him who Carol is, and he tells her that she is his girlfriend and she is the reason he moved to New York eight months ago. (which Robin didn't know about, until recently). Barney then introduces himself, but Robin's dad mocks his hair, as grown men are not supposed to be blonde. Barney then arrives at the bar and says that he wants a band for their wedding, but Ted says that they should get a DJ. Barney asks Lily if she remembers the band she almost booked for her wedding and Lily says that she will book them for the wedding. However Robin says that they shouldn't book anything yet, as Robin dad hasn't given his permission yet. Barney asks her not to be worried as he has a plan. The next day, Barney meets Robin's dad at the restaurant alone, with his hair dyed brunette. He tells her that he is very serious about marrying Robin. Mr. Scherbatsky says that when he wanted to marry Robin's mother he killed a bear with his bare hands to give to her family as tribute, which scares Barney. At the apartment, Marshall and Lily and worried that Marvin is still constipated, when Robin walks in. Lily informs her that the band they wanted is booked for May 25th, and till suggests a DJ again. Robin says that Robin's dad keeps sending her friend requests on , and she is going to accept it, but the other tell her not to, as she doesn't know what is on his page. However, Robin accepts it anyways. At Barney's apartment, Mr. Scherbatsky wants him to shoot a rabbit, which Barney can't do as he has instantly become attached to it and has even come up with a backstory for it. Robin then walks in and sees this, and asks her dad why it says that he is married on his Facebook. He tells her that he got married to his girlfriend. Robin is angry that she wasn't informed about this. She tells him that since he has no interest in involving her in hid personal life, she may as well tell him that her and Barney are already engaged, and since she was not involved in his wedding, he is not invited to hers. At the apartment, Lily tells Ted that she found out that Ted is the one who booked the band on the day of the wedding, and Ted tells her that he did that so Barney and Robin can't book them. He says that Robin deserves better than "some crappy unreliable band". He says that bands let you down and "they slept with every girl in New York city." He can't believe that Robin is marrying... "the idea of getting a band". Lily takes Ted to the roof to talk about thiis. She tells him to say how much he hates that Robin and Barney are getting married. He says that he is happy for them and he is the one who encouraged Robin to go after Barney, but Lily says that he thought he was okay with letting Robin go, but now that she is gone, it hurts. Future Ted says that at that point in his life he had been hurt a few times already (montage a Ted getting hurt in previous episodes is played), but when he read the text from Barney, it hurt a million times more than that. Lily says that he will keep seeing that he is happy for them because of he said anything to the contrary, that would make him that most awful person on the rooftop. She is therefore going to give him an out by sating something that is even more awful. She tells him that sometimes she wishes that she wasn't a mom, and she wants to pack a bag at the middle of the night and not comeback. Ted then says that Robin should be with him instead of Barney. He asks Lily if she is serious about what she said, and she says that she loves being a mom and loves Marvin too, but previously art was her whole life and now she hasn't even picked up a brush in months. She spends the whole day taking care of kids at her job and it's the same when she gets home and it's really hard. Ted asks if she has talked to Marshall about how she feels but Lily asks him that same thing; has he talked to Robin about how he feels? She says that they have to accept what is happening in their life. In the apartment, Marshall sees that Marvin's diaper is still clean, but Marvin smiles and poops all over Marshall. The same night, Robin agrees to meet her dad one more time. He apologizes for getting married without consulting her and is going to get a divorce from Carol to make things right. He asks if this wasn't what she wanted. Robin says that all she wants a normal dad. She wants him to give Barney permission to marry her, come to the wedding, give her away and dance with her like a normal dad, but he only agrees to one dance. He says that he'll see her at the wedding. She tells Ted about this and says that it is amazing that Barney made her dad apologize to her when he was never done it before and that Barney must really love her and Ted says that he will be crazy not to and that he is really happy for them, but she should still consider getting a DJ. Future Ted says that he made a really strong case that night, but Robin wanted a band. Four months later, Ted meets Cindy and her partner Casey on a train ride, a week before Barney and Robin's wedding. He tells them that the band was hired to play at the wedding cancelled, and asks them if they know a wedding band. Cindy tells him that she recently had brunch with her ex-roommate (The Mother), and her band is available for the weekend to play at the wedding. Ted says that he is lucky to run into both of them. Future Ted says that "lucky' doesn't even begin to describe it, because if Barney and Robin had taken his stupid advice and hired a DJ, he never would have met the mother. A flashforward to the wedding shows the band playing. Ted sees the bass player and smiles. Continuity *In the beginning when Lily finds out Ted is planning the wedding, the music from Lily's "you're dead to me look" is played. *The montage of Ted getting hurt before is mostly taken from previous episodes: **A kid punching him in the crotch. ( ) **Natalie kicking him. ( ) **Ted getting punched by a guy. ( ) **Ted getting his tattoo removed by Stella. ( ) **Barney punching Ted. ( ) **Ted's fight with the goat. ( ) **Getting punched by Punchy. ( ) **Getting kicked in the nuts by Barney. ( ) **Spilling hot soup on himself while he is naked. ( ) **Robin telling him that she doesn't love him. ( ) *Barney mentions that Lily almost hired for her wedding in . *In , Future Ted says that Cindy did become a mother. In the "four months later" scene, Cindy and Casey have a stroller with them in the train. Gallery Band or DJ 1.jpg Band or DJ 2.jpg Band or DJ 3.jpg Memorable Quotes Notes and Trivia Goofs and Errors Allusions and Outside References *Ted said that Robin's dad is a "stone-colded ." *Ted's mom wrote a 2000 word review on . *Robin's father posts on his and mentions the "I can has cheezburger" cat. *Lily and Marshall mention actor and comedian . *Ted talks about many bands and singers that could play at the wedding, including , , , , and . *Robin's father says he and Carol went to a performance to the recording artist . Later on the episode, he agrees to one dance at Robin and Barney's wedding, as long the song is . *Marshall talks about some Facebook game "that has something to do with and . *Lily mentions , and Ted and Marshall act a scene of that movie. Music * - *Guiding Light - Other Notes *This episode shows the very first moment Ted ever directly sees The Mother (before "meeting" her) when she's playing her bass guitar on the dancefloor during the later half of the wedding. The first time The Mother ever saw Ted was in when he walked into the wrong class (Economics). Ted also caught the first glimpse of the mother in , when he saw her foot in Cindy's apartment. *It is revealed that The Mother is the bass player in the band plating at Barney and Robin's Wedding band. *The "Four Months Later" flashforward confirms the Wedding and day Ted will meet The Mother to be May 25th, 2013 and is the first instance of a flashforward about the wedding that doesn't use "A little ways down the road". *Barney writes about the rabbit's backstory in his blog; The Splendiferous Adventures... Guests * - Robin Scherbatsky Sr. *Rachel Bilson - Cindy * - Casey (Cindy's girlfriend) *Anthony Robinette - Waiter *Jennifer Birmingham - Woman Podcast Reception Donna Bowman of gave the episode a B+. She mentions that the Marvin storyline was not like the others saying that "The preoccupations of new parents and the drama of the search for young love pull the show in two different directions, and the result is that one or the other is bound to find itself ghettoized." She also said that Ted's and Lily talk on the roof "vibrated with creative honesty."http://www.avclub.com/articles/band-or-dj,89965/ Max Nicholson of gave the episode a 7 out of 10. He says that "although Robin Sr.'s scenes with Barney weren't particularly funny, his scenes with Robin were a bit more compelling." He also says that "the Ted not being over Robin thing is now officially tiresome" and that "Lily's confession to Ted that stood out as the more meaningful revelation."http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/15/how-i-met-your-mother-band-or-dj-review References External Links Category:Who is the Mother?